Live: Catalan speaker announces delay of today’s planned investiture session

Here's a summary of what could come next in Catalan politics: Could Puigdemont still be sworn in as premier?

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The central government delegate in Catalonia, Enric Millo, said today that he believes that the Catalan parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, has obeyed the Constitutional Court ruling, in spite of making what he described as a statement "disguised as disobedience," adding that the central government in Madrid and the Constitutional Court "have never tried" to choose the regional premier

The pro-independence organization Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has not canceled the demonstrations it has called for this Tuesday, in spite of the suspension of the investiture session by the speaker of the regional parliament.

 

Central government sources have stated this morning that the appeal they filed with the Constitutional Court and the rulings that the court issued ahead of today's now-delayed investiture session have avoided what would have been "a mockery of our democracy." "The pro-independence forces know that they are obliged to obey the law like the rest of our citizens. The government will continue to defend the law and the institutions at all times," the same sources said. Reporting by Anabel Díez.

The Catalan economy grew 0.5% between October and December of last year, three-tenths of a point less than the previous quarter and two points below Spain's economy as a whole. That's according to the latest estimates from the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.

The president of the institution, Miquel Valls, said today that the effects of the political instability in the region have been "in the short term limited and transitory," and have been focused on tourism, trade and construction, while exports have held steady.

Deputies, senators and other politicians from the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) have been using the social networks this morning to applaud the decision of the regional parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, to delay the investiture session that was scheduled for today, and potentially would have seen ousted premier Carles Puigdemont voted back into power.

ERC senator Bernat Picornell posted this message: "The premier will be chosen by the deputies and not by a person at a desk 600 kilometers from here."

Police checks near the Catalan parliament building. The Spanish government vowed not to let Puidgemont into Spain - "even if it is in the trunk of a car."

Photo by Carles Ribas.

 

Torrent: "I will fight to the last to defend the rights of Puigdemont. All of my energies will be focused on defending the institution, the voters, definitively, the essence of democracy, because democracy cannot be suspended. This parliament represents the sovereignty of the entire Catalan people."

Torrent: "Premier Puigdemont knows that the defense of the rights of the deputies [in the Catalan parliament] is my responsibility in my role [as speaker]. I have committed to guaranteeing his immunity. I have called on the Chamber's legal counsel to appear and formulate arguments."

Since fleeing to Brussels in the wake of last year's independence declaration that was passed through the Catalan parliament, Puigdemont has been wanted for arrest by the Spanish justice system. He is likely to be arrested should he set foot back on Spanish soil.

Torrent: "The [investiture session of Carles Puigdemont] is not going to be called off, but it is going to be delayed."

Torrent: "The Spanish government and the Constitutional Court are trying to violate the rights of millions of Catalans and we will not accept this."

Torrent: "I am not going to propose any other candidate who is not Puigdemont." "Premier Puigdemont has every right to be voted in."

Catalan speaker Roger Torrent: "The Spanish state has shown one of its darkest sides from a democratic point of view," he continued, speaking about the "conditions imposed by the Constitutional [Court] on the investiture of Puigdemont."

Catalan parliamentary speaker Roger Torrent: "No one will decide who has to be premier, not the deputy prime minister nor the Constitutional Court. It is the deputies [in parliament who decide]."

 

Amid huge expectation, Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent spoke to the press from the Catalan parliament at around 10.10am on Tuesday.

"No one can tell the speaker's committee how it has to interpret the rules," he said, in reference to the Constitutional Court ruling at the weekend stating that Carles Puigdemont could not be voted in as premier at the investiture session if he was not physically there

 

Welcome to today's live blog on all the latest news from Catalonia and Spanish politics.